Cooking shellfish

Published 4:49 pm, Friday, October 5, 2012

Shellfish are a gift from the sea that can be enjoyed in many ways. Here are some readers' favorites.

From Bonnie Wunsch of Danbury, this week's cookbook winner:

New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp

Serves 6-8

2 lemons, cut into wedges

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 bay leaves

3 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon dried thyme

4 pounds unpeeled, large raw shrimp

French bread

Heat over to 400 degrees. Stir first nine ingredients together. Place shrimp in a 9- by 13-inch baking dish; pour mixture over shrimp.

Bake at 400 for 35 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink, stirring every 10 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Use the cooked lemon wedges on the side to garnish. Serve with French bread for dipping in the sauce or also good served over long grain and wild rice or orzo. Make it traditionally Southern and serve with grits.

From Rose Sagliano of Bridgeport:

Mussels in Wine

Makes 4 servings

3 dozen mussels

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup heavy cream

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup sniped parsley

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Scrub mussels well under cold running water to remove sand, seawood and barnacles. With a sharp knife trim off beard around the edges. Place mussels in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Let stand one to two hours. Drain mussels, the put them in a large kettle with the wine, cream, onion, parsley, butter, salt and cayenne pepper. Cover tightly and bring to a boil. Continue cooking for three minutes or until flesh of mussels turns white. Serve mussels covered with juice in large, flat soup bowls. Serve with French bread.

2 pounds or 2 large lobsters, cooked, cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces

1/3 pound butter

1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half

1 cup whole milk

1 cup evaporated milk

Salt, pepper and paprika, to taste

1/8 teaspoon sugar

1 small loaf French bread, sliced and toasted

Melt the butter in a saucepan or small soup pot. Add cut-up, cooked lobster and saute eight to 10 minutes to flavor the butter. Add the cream, whole milk and evaporated milk, salt, pepper and paprika. Stir and heat; be sure not to boil. Add sugar. Stir to mix. To serve, place a small piece of the toasted bread in a soup bowl and ladle the stew over and serve hot.

From Margaret Taylor of Milford:

Shrimp Florentine

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach

1 pound shrimp, cleaned, deveined, uncooked

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup green onions, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Thaw spinach and squeeze dry. Spread spinach in the bottom of a greased casserole. Top with prepared shrimp. In a saucepan melt butter and stir in flour. Gradually add milk, wine and green onions. Cook, stirring constantly over low heat until sauce bubbles and thickens. Add salt and cheese. Cook until cheese is melted. Pour over spinach/shrimp. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve over rice, if desired.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix wine, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a shallow baking dish. Stir in scallops. Add half-and-half and stir. Mix bread crumbs with the melted butter in a small bowl. Sprinkle scallops with the bread crumb mixture. Bake until scallops are done, mixture is bubbly, and crumbs are browned, about 15 minutes.

From Mary Ann Arlio of Trumbull:

Oyster Baker

Makes 4 servings

4 cups firm-type white bread, cubed

1/2 cup unsalted butter

Salt and cayenne pepper, to taste

1 pint raw oysters, well drained

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 small onion, grated

1/2 cup whipping cream

Paprika

Remove crusts from bread. Cut bread into 1/4-inch cubes. In a large skillet melt half the butter. Add 2 cups cubes and toss over low heat until golden brown. Sprinkle lightly with salt and cayenne pepper while stirring. Remove from pan. Add remaining butter and remaining cubes. Cook until golden brown. Sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper, then add to first batch. Cover the bottom of a buttered, two-quart baking dish with 1/3 bread cubes. Top with half the oysters. Sprinkle with salt and cayenne, half the lemon juice and half the grated onion. Cover with 1/3 bread cubes and remaining oysters. Sprinkle with salt and cayenne. Add remaining lemon juice and onion. Pour in cream and top with the rest of the bread cubes. Sprinkle with paprika and baked at 325 degrees fro 30 to 35 minutes.